ABSTRACT

Public sector organizations have specific responsibilities. For example, the Founding Fathers stated that government should provide specific guarantees such as providing for the common defense and promoting the general welfare. These imprecise mandates guide missions of organizations as well as more specific goals of those organizations. Cultures develop around mandates such as the mandate to ensure safety, advance knowledge, and promote economic stability. Mission and culture in turn shape standard operating procedures and informal as well as formal rules of behavior. Ethics plays a role in the achievement of the diverse missions of public organizations. This chapter will discuss missions, culture, and ethical dilemmas that individuals face as they toil in organizations. The chapter identifies the value of missions, possible ethical dilemmas posed in accomplishing missions, and how organizational culture are distinctive, a fact that possibly leads to differing perceptions of appropriate behavior within the organization.